Tour points to possibility county will privatize jail to save money

Published: Friday, September 6, 2013 at 6:08 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, September 6, 2013 at 6:08 p.m.

The Marion County Commission, which has been locked in a testy budget battle with Sheriff Chris Blair, may consider privatizing the county jail as a way of saving money.

County Commissioner Stan McClain led several high-ranking county officials and representatives of Corrections Corporation of America on what McClain called a fact-finding visit to the jail on Wednesday.

McClain said the visit, which lasted about an hour and a half, was to “get a feel of what we’ve got.” He said there are different sections of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, such as the law enforcement side and the jail, and he wanted to be familiar with the jail and its operation.

“At this point, we’ve got to look at the entire Sheriff’s Office budget, not for now, but for the next 10 to 15 years,” McClain said.

Some of the people who accompanied McClain were County Administrator Lee Niblock, Marion County Fire Rescue Chief Stuart McElhaney, employees from the finance department, and two officials from the Corrections Corporation of America, which surprised jail officials and the sheriff.

When asked if he got all the answers he needed from his tour, McClain said he wasn’t sure. The tour, he said, was “thorough,” despite it being quickly planned after the commission meeting the day before. As a result, he said, the sheriff did not know about the visit or his intention.

Sheriff Blair said Friday afternoon that when he took office in January, an in-house staffing analysis done on the jail showed the only problem was a shortage of manpower, which he said was relayed to the commission.

“We’re a professional and cost-efficient correctional facility,” Blair said.

Blair said he has met with the commissioners and even met with McClain recently, but McClain never mentioned a proposed jail visit.

Maj. Terry Bovaird, head of the Corrections Division, said Friday that McClain had told him that three people were coming for the visit — himself, Niblock and county employee Andy Race. When McClain showed up, he had nine people with him, some of whom Bovaird did not know.

At the conclusion of the tour, he was told by two of his employees that two of the individuals on the tour were from CCA.

The visit has caused an uproar among employees, who fear they may be losing their jobs, Bovaird said.

“It created a panic throughout the organization, and I’m still continuing to meet with employees to reassure them that nothing is set in stone,” he said.

Chief Fred LaTorre was more blunt in his assessment of McClain’s visit.

“To be truthful, I think he was disrespectful to the sheriff. They came in under the veil of deceit,” LaTorre said.

Blair said his commitment is to the employees at the Sheriff’s Office, the citizens of Marion County and for the safety of everyone he is entrusted to protect.

“I’m willing to work with all of them,” Blair said.

According to CCA’s website, the Nashville-based corporation was founded in 1983 and employs about 17,000 people in security, health services, human resources and management and administration. With more than 80,000 inmates at more than 60 facilities, 44 of which are company-owned, CCA is the fifth-largest corrections system in the U.S.

A March 2011 Bloomberg Business Week magazine article states that CCA and its rival, GEO Group, account for more than $3 billion in gross revenues annually.

But the article notes that CCA has critics. In the late 1990s in Youngstown, Ohio, CCA housed 1,700 violent offenders in a medium security facility and within a year 20 had been stabbed and two murdered. Critics also accused CCA of mistreating inmates, providing insufficient health care and dumping medical costs for inmate care on the state.

“There’s nothing to be gained by the commission taking over the jail by privatization. If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it,” Blair said.

The jail, he said, received state and national accreditation in 2013 and also received an unprecedented 100 percent compliance rating.

The budget wrangling between him and the commission continued Tuesday when the board rejected his request to move money around in his budget to reduce a spending increase he seeks for next year.

Blair challenged the commission to review his budget after he requested a $17 million hike for next year. McClain accepted the challenge to look at Blair’s budget and is working with a committee of county officials to go line by line through the budget with a goal of eliminating any need for a tax increase.

Blair has since halved next year’s requested increase to $8.2 million. Still, commissioners, who have approval authority over the budget, have asked for more cuts, saying they asked all county-level elected officials to hold budgets flat.

<p>The Marion County Commission, which has been locked in a testy budget battle with Sheriff Chris Blair, may consider privatizing the county jail as a way of saving money.</p><p>County Commissioner Stan McClain led several high-ranking county officials and representatives of Corrections Corporation of America on what McClain called a fact-finding visit to the jail on Wednesday.</p><p>McClain said the visit, which lasted about an hour and a half, was to “get a feel of what we've got.” He said there are different sections of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, such as the law enforcement side and the jail, and he wanted to be familiar with the jail and its operation.</p><p>“At this point, we've got to look at the entire Sheriff's Office budget, not for now, but for the next 10 to 15 years,” McClain said.</p><p>Some of the people who accompanied McClain were County Administrator Lee Niblock, Marion County Fire Rescue Chief Stuart McElhaney, employees from the finance department, and two officials from the Corrections Corporation of America, which surprised jail officials and the sheriff.</p><p>When asked if he got all the answers he needed from his tour, McClain said he wasn't sure. The tour, he said, was “thorough,” despite it being quickly planned after the commission meeting the day before. As a result, he said, the sheriff did not know about the visit or his intention.</p><p>Sheriff Blair said Friday afternoon that when he took office in January, an in-house staffing analysis done on the jail showed the only problem was a shortage of manpower, which he said was relayed to the commission.</p><p>“We're a professional and cost-efficient correctional facility,” Blair said.</p><p>Blair said he has met with the commissioners and even met with McClain recently, but McClain never mentioned a proposed jail visit.</p><p>Maj. Terry Bovaird, head of the Corrections Division, said Friday that McClain had told him that three people were coming for the visit — himself, Niblock and county employee Andy Race. When McClain showed up, he had nine people with him, some of whom Bovaird did not know.</p><p>At the conclusion of the tour, he was told by two of his employees that two of the individuals on the tour were from CCA.</p><p>The visit has caused an uproar among employees, who fear they may be losing their jobs, Bovaird said.</p><p>“It created a panic throughout the organization, and I'm still continuing to meet with employees to reassure them that nothing is set in stone,” he said.</p><p>Chief Fred LaTorre was more blunt in his assessment of McClain's visit.</p><p>“To be truthful, I think he was disrespectful to the sheriff. They came in under the veil of deceit,” LaTorre said.</p><p>Blair said his commitment is to the employees at the Sheriff's Office, the citizens of Marion County and for the safety of everyone he is entrusted to protect.</p><p>“I'm willing to work with all of them,” Blair said.</p><p>According to CCA's website, the Nashville-based corporation was founded in 1983 and employs about 17,000 people in security, health services, human resources and management and administration. With more than 80,000 inmates at more than 60 facilities, 44 of which are company-owned, CCA is the fifth-largest corrections system in the U.S.</p><p>A March 2011 Bloomberg Business Week magazine article states that CCA and its rival, GEO Group, account for more than $3 billion in gross revenues annually.</p><p>But the article notes that CCA has critics. In the late 1990s in Youngstown, Ohio, CCA housed 1,700 violent offenders in a medium security facility and within a year 20 had been stabbed and two murdered. Critics also accused CCA of mistreating inmates, providing insufficient health care and dumping medical costs for inmate care on the state.</p><p>“There's nothing to be gained by the commission taking over the jail by privatization. If it ain't broke, then don't fix it,” Blair said.</p><p>The jail, he said, received state and national accreditation in 2013 and also received an unprecedented 100 percent compliance rating.</p><p>Blair has told the commission he needs funding to hire additional patrol deputies and jailers, replace worn-out vehicles and aging computer equipment, provide staff pay raises, and defray costs owed for vacation and compensatory time.</p><p>The budget wrangling between him and the commission continued Tuesday when the board rejected his request to move money around in his budget to reduce a spending increase he seeks for next year.</p><p>Blair challenged the commission to review his budget after he requested a $17 million hike for next year. McClain accepted the challenge to look at Blair's budget and is working with a committee of county officials to go line by line through the budget with a goal of eliminating any need for a tax increase.</p><p>Blair has since halved next year's requested increase to $8.2 million. Still, commissioners, who have approval authority over the budget, have asked for more cuts, saying they asked all county-level elected officials to hold budgets flat.</p><p>No one from CCA could be reached for comment Friday.</p>